Jiyuu
by Zerofoxie
Summary: Sephiroth's mysterious past is one best forgotten, and not easily retold. Thus far: Lost in the crowd but found again. An encounter with the public and a girl who sells flowers causes him to question Shin-Ra's purpose as well as his own. (in progress)
1. Project MOJI

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Foreward:   
This is a FF7 fanfic, and takes place before the Main Plotline of the game. For the record, "Jiyuu" means "Freedom". Each Japanese term will be explained once, usually at the top of the chapter it is first used in (i.e. - chapter titles), or explained by using context clues (like calling a teacher 'sensei'). If you have any questions, please pose them in a review and I'll try to clarify in future chapters. Also, please don't expect my typical style herein. I've tried to make this a Drama, but not specifically fangirl-oriented (no shoujo sparklies to be seen >.> not this time). Please read with an open mind. And, please, don't forget to review. Even a few words mean a lot to me.   
~*Zerofoxie 

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**_Chapter One: Project MOJI_**   
moji: letter, character

  


The foundation of the project was founded years ago, even before Professor Hojo began his experimentation. Ideas brought forth by Professor Gast were set into motion by a team of scientists, who repeatedly failed to produce a properly-functioning specimen. But when Professor Hojo came across the documentation of the experiment, he took it upon himself to perfect it and produce a satisfactory result. This project was later called Project MOJI, in reference to the Roman letters Hojo tattooed upon his specimens...if they made it far enough to become a tattooable organism. Our story begins nineteen years into Hojo's experiments with this project, and fifteen after the being known as Sephiroth was produced. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

He lay in the chair, almost in a trance-like state. He had undergone these treatments for as long as he could remember, so he had learned how to ignore the dull sting of the fluid which entered his body through the needle in his arm. He knew its purpose, as he had been told since the first day he existed. They were making him into something they needed. Always, always, it was about that place of ultimate happiness. And always, he was told that he would lead them to it. But he wanted nothing of it. All he wanted was his freedom, to be allowed release from his cage of misery if only for a moment. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

He desired most that happiness. All the materia in the world could never amount to such a sublime feeling, or so he imagined often when he was back in his room, alone. Sometimes he was even thankful for his room, even for it being as empty and dark as it always was. He treasured the time when he could sit there and entertain such thoughts and dreams of being free, instead of the training or treatments he had to endure daily. His chance at freedom was drawing near, but his wings were still chained to Them. He was told that he would enter SOLDIER in the fall, and serve as a weapon of Shin-Ra. Yes, that was the name. Shin-Ra. They were the ones he was told to lead to their Promised Land. Their land of happiness. Their land of dreams. But...who would give him _his_ happiness? 

_Is it really too much to ask? For my own freedom and happiness?_

His eyes focused on a canvas sheet which covered what he imagined to be an array of experiments and tools. It had letters painted on it with white acrylic, but he could not read the entire label. All he could read was the English, which didn't help him at all. He cursed the scientists for not teaching him the language as he grew up, for they only recently decided to teach him how to write the bare-essentials of the major languages that he would need in SOLDIER. They did not teach him the complicated characters of one language, which he was quite thankful for because of how difficult and different they all looked. He was only bothered by the fact that he couldn't read this canvas sheet, a sheet he had looked at for years and years in curiosity. He feared asking the Doctor, mainly because of what happened the last time he questioned one of his experiments. The Doctor became enraged with his inquiry, and sent him away without a meal for the evening - his one meal for the day. That was the worst, too, to be left without food after treatment. It left him weak the next day for his morning training, and made the treatment even worse in the evening. The Doctor was in a better mood after that, though, because it made the boy more submissive. He needn't worry about any aggressions towards him after that, for the boy realized exactly what power the man had over his life. 

_But...what does that say? I want to know..._ he thought. _If I don't find out soon, I'll be in SOLDIER...and I probably will never find out._

He felt his treatment's end drawing near, and closed his eyes. He always would fall asleep afterward, possibly from the mental anxiety it caused, or possibly from a merciful additive in the fluid that worked like an anesthetic. He never found out that day he asked, and figured he would recieve a more severe punishment than being starved if he ever asked again. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

"So, are you understanding the material well?" 

"Yes, teacher." He replied truthfully, and contemplated how to pose his question, without giving away why he was asking it. "Teacher?" 

"Yes?" 

"I...I was...wondering...if..you could help me learn..more." 

The teacher's eyes lit up. "More? You desire to learn more? Interesting..." he made a note on one of the papers in front of him. 

"Yes...I..wanted to learn more of that language with the weird characters." 

"Chinese? Well, I suppose.." 

"No, not Chinese. The other...that says it differently and has all the different sounds I had to learn." 

"Oh, yes. Japanese. Our sister language. I can see why you'd want to learn more, considering that fact. It's writing is harder than English to learn, I'm afraid, and will use up valuable time." 

"But...I want to learn. Please, sensei?" 

The teacher smiled. "Sensei? Well...yes, it will take up time, but I'll try to teach it to you. You may end up finding Kanji necessary to know on your travels." 

"It's called...Kanji? Those letters?" 

The teacher chuckled. "Yes, those 'letters' are Kanji. I'll present my proposal to the good doctor, and see if he'll extend my time for another hour each day." 

"Another....hour?" he scowled in disgust. _Aren't six hours of language every day enough?_

-|/\/\/\/\|-

He lay in the chair confortably, but trembled from either fear or excitement. He usually didn't react at all to the insertion of the needle, so he figured it must be out of excitement. He had learned a new set of Kanji but a few minutes ago in class, and eagerly anticipated reading the canvas sheet. His earlier lessons proved futile, none of the characters matching what was painted ever so carefully on the sheet. But today, he had high hopes. His fighting lessons were cancelled indeffinately-he was now only required to practice for an hour in the morning with other SOLDIERs-and the spare time opened was dedicated to his language lessons. He was told he was almost 3/4 of the way complete with his Kanji lessons, what with the new hundred he practiced today. His teacher, and even the doctor, was amazed at his progress. Then, of course, dedication was what pushed him to memorize all those horrible characters, and perservereance forced him to keep them straight. 

Other than the slight tremors, he tried his best to hide his excitement from the Doctor and his few assistants. He began to feel the sensation of the liquid melding with his blood, and waited for his audience to clear away from his view of the canvas. His excitement multiplied greatly as one of the assistants left his side, and he shivered with anticipation as another turned to leave as well. The doctor, of course, took notice of this behavior, but only observed the shivering of his 'specimen' and dismissed it as result of his recent abundence of language lessons. He dismissed his second assistant, and left the room himself to carry on other experimentation. 

He stared at the canvas with the greatest interest, browsing his memory for matching characters. He found one that seemed to fit the painted character almost perfectly, and kept it in his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to remember anything resembling the second character, visualizing every character with the same number of strokes. And then, he remembered it. It came to him out of nowhere it seemed. He didn't even recall learning the character, but he knew that's what it read. The characters suddenly seemed simple to him, as though he should have known them all along. They, together, read _moji_, a simple word, indeed. _Letter_. But, why did this sheet say that? What business did the Doctor have with letters? Wasn't his teacher supposed to be in that business? 

His curiosity got the best of him. He gathered up the mobile machine in his strong arms that was pumping the solution into his blood -taking care to not disturb the needle in his flesh and vein- and cautiously made his way over to the canvas nearby. Luckily, his training taught him how to move about quite stealthily, even when bearing his treasured Masamune, so silence was child's play to him. He approached the canvas, and setup the machine he was holding on a shelf a few feet away. He grabbed at the right side of the canvas, and pulled it aside with great care -so as not to disturb whatever lie behind it. 

He gradually revealed, little by little, small glass vials. These vials were full of a greenish fluid, and a small yellow organism. Some were labeled and in different sizes, others were not and simply marked with an X, then the Kanji for zero, "rei". He pulled the canvas sheet aside further, and unveiled another, much larger vial. It obviously held a larger organism, and was filled with more of the greenish fluid. He pulled aside the rest of the canvas, eager to learn what was inside. 

Light finally filled the vial. He could see inside what appeared to be a girl, about the same age as himself. She was clothed in a blackwetsuit, the sleeves on which were discarded to make way for the intravenous system that was inserted in each of her thin arms. Small tubes were attatched to the needles: one slowly pumped a glowing teal fluid into her, and the other appeared to pull blood from her at regular, brief intervals. On her abdomen, more tubes were attatched, but their purpose was not appearant because they were not clear like the other two. 

He watched the girl with wonderment. She floated, as if unharmed by time, in this strange fluid. He assumed that she had been there for some time, and wasn't coming out soon, either. _So...the Doctor did this? Strange..._

He stared at the girl for minutes more, then rummaged around quietly in search of a file, of which he never found. He sighed, defeated, and noticed something he had not seen before. A dark tattoo on her shoulder. 

_A Roman character?_ He read it aloud. "I remember this. _Alpha_." 

Bubbles rose form the floor of the large green tube, and the girl opened her eyes. 

  


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Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy Seven. If I did, I would be filthy rich and not have to worry about being sued. So don't sue me, okies? 


	2. Denied A Name and A Soul - The Empty She...

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**_Chapter Two: Denied A Name and A Soul - The Empty Shell_**

  


The boy jumped back, fearing the girl who just awakened and the wrath of her creator. He staggered toward the chair he had been in, never taking his eyes off the girl, but the needle in his arm prevented him from gaining much distance between him and the girl. 

The girl blinked slowly inside her liquid prison, and continued staring at the boy before her. Without moving her lips, she asked him: "Who. Are. You." 

The boy began to panic now, afraid that the Doctor would hear the girl or the noise he was making in distress. 

"Answer. Me. Who. Are. You." 

"I...I am....." 

  


"Teacher?" 

"Yes?" 

"If you could give me a name, what would you call me?" 

"You know I was ordered to not create a personal relationship with you. I cannot therefore name you." 

"But...I always wanted a name. Everyone else has one, even the Doctor! Please, what would you call me?" 

The teacher closed his eyes. "Well...you are my student. So I guess I must call you something, other than 'Hey, you' or 'Student'. I've thought about this before, actually. And I think a fitting name would be..." 

  


"Sephiroth." the boy answered with shakey words. "My...name is...Sephiroth." 

The girl blinked slowly again, and absorbed the information into her memory. "Se. Phi. Roth." 

Sephiroth looked at the girl in wonder. "Do...you have a name?" 

"I. Have. No. Name. Where is. Ho. Jo." 

"He's...working on another experiment.." 

"Are. You? An. Experiment?" 

"You could...say that." He glared at the girl for a moment. "How are you speaking, anyways? Your mouth doesn't move." 

"There. Are. Sensors. In my. Brain. They. Transfer. The signals. To. A machine. And become. Words." 

"But...why? You're human, like me! Why can't you speak?" 

The floating youth closed her eyes. "This. Fluid would. Drown. Me. If I. Opened. My mouth. That's. Why I have. To have my. Blood. Directly. Oxygenated. Through those. Tubes." 

He assumed the tubes she was talking about were the ones in her abdomen. 

"I. Also. Am fed. That. Way." Her eyes reopened. "Hojo says. That I. Will. Be pure. This way. And. Unharmed. By. Disease." 

Sephiroth walked back over to the shelf where he set the IV unit. "You're strange." 

The girl's gaze followed him to the shelf nearby. "I. learned. That those. Without a. Name. Have. No soul. If. That is. True. Then. You're. Just like. Me." 

He shook his head. "I told you my name. It's Sephiroth." 

The girl shook her head slowly in the same fashion as the boy. "No. You have. No. Name. You lied. To. Me. Hojo said. You. Have no. Name. You. Are like. Me. He said. Hojo. Wouldn't. Lie. To me. You. Lie." 

"Not only are you strange," he picked up the IV unit, "but you're annoying as hell. I think I'll put this sheet back up." 

"NO." the girl spoke sternly. "The. Dark. It's..." 

Sephiroth pulled the canvas sheet back over the tube. "Goodnight, annoying thing." 

"PLEASE." she pleaded in vain. "I. Don't like it." Her eyes closed once more, and she fell silent, knowing she was defeated. 

Sephiroth adjusted the painted sheet to make it look exactly as it had been before he moved it, and wandered back over to his chair. He set the unit down, and laid down himself in the cold black leather chair. _That's the last time I ever look through here again..._ he thought to himself. _Hojo sure has strange pets._

-|/\/\/\/\|-

Hojo slapped the boy to wake him up. 

"What the hell did you do, you imbecile??!! Do you think you can just go snooping around here like that?!" 

Sephiroth sat up fast in the chair, the dull throb of where the needle had entered his skin telling him his treatment was over. "What...what do you mean?! I don't know what you're talking about!!" 

Hojo slapped him again. "She told me about you, idiot!! Do you think you could just cover her up and make her forget??!!??!!" 

"I..." Sephiroth shifted around nervously in his chair, the doctor mere inches away from his face. "I'm...sorry!! I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!" 

Hojo glared at the boy. "Stupid. Incredibly stupid. I thought you knew that you're not allowed to do anything without my permission but _breathe_, boy. Because of you, she's extremely upset, so stop appologizing to _me_. Go beg for _her_ forgiveness." 

Sephiroth lay still for a moment, then squeezed past the Doctor. He slowly walked over to the tube, which was now completely uncovered. He shivered at the sight of the girl in full light, her hair a drastic contrast to her white skin. Her eyes seemed to glow strangely, and appeared almost colorless in this bright lighting. She seemed even thinner than he could see before with only partial light to see her in, and reminded him of a floating ghost. 

He stepped up to the glass container with his head down, almost feeling disgusted for having been forced to apologize to someone in a tube. 

"I'm...sorry." 

The girl stared at him unblinkingly, her cold, empty eyes shadowing her thoughts. She said nothing. She remained motionless. She simply stared at him, stared for several minutes. Her only word came after that uncomfortable silence, and made the boy jump: "Good." 

Hojo silently crept up behind the boy, and whispered in his ear, "You're excused. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of a new experiment. You should get some rest." 

  


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Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy Seven. If I did, I would be filthy rich and not have to worry about being sued. So don't sue me, okies? 


	3. An Experiment

[author note: this was written at around 3am, so don't expect any miracles or excitement]   


**_Chapter Three: An Experiment_**

  


_I can't breathe... _

...why...why can't.... 

...I can't breathe..? 

...experiment..? 

..my own good.... 

...research...save the lives of... 

I can't breathe... 

...sacrifices..? 

but why can't... 

...why can't I breathe? 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

"Anything?" 

"Well...yes. I suppose. He said that you could talk about anything since it'll all be recorded." 

"Wow, how exciting!!" a young girl cheered. "I get to have my conquest of learning recorded so I can watch it later!!" 

"The Good Doctor *did* mention that only he would be viewing the videocassettes..." 

"...awwww....." 

"Besides, you kids need to focous on your studies. We all have high hopes for the group of you, so please try to do your best." 

"Yes, sensei," the small group replied. They had been assembled, together, inside this small room. A learning environment? no, not looking like this. An experiment, the Doctor had called it. But what could he have in mind for something like this? This place...this room...this teacher...this chill in the air...Sephiroth would rather he had no part in it. He didn't much like the looks of this new teacher, despite his cheery, formal attitude. Sephiroth could feel something coming off this man, something like what it felt like around the Doctor. Yes, the same clammy feel in the air. It made him cold, edgy. He didn't like this. No, not at all. Why was he there? What happened to his old teacher? 

"Now, please take out the History textbook from your desks and turn to page fourteen. Today we will be learning about..." 

_Page fourteen?_ Child's play, he thought. Simple busy work. He's not here to educate us. I know more than he does, I guarantee... 

"Hey!" 

Sephiroth turned to the girl seated near him. "It's not polite to think rude things about Sensei! Just do as he says, or the Doctor will get upset!" 

"But...but how? How did you...?!" 

"You two in the back, what's so funny?" the teacher called, annoyed at their interruption. 

"This boy...he...haha...he says he...he can't hear peoples' thoughts!!" 

A girl to the right of him whispered to Sephiroth: "Don't mind her. She thinks she's so speeciaal... The Doctor accidentally made her able to understand the thoughts of the living instead of the dead." 

"The DEAD?!" Sephiroth jumped slightly and stiffened in his chair. 

"What? You can't HEAR them?!" the girl asked, humor in her tone. "You must be joking..." 

"Students, I don't think this is the type of research Doctor Hojo had in mind. Please restrain yourselves and keep to your studies." 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

_Feel the flame inside me...summon the inferno..._ Sephiroth thought boredly as he read the first part of Chapter Thirteen of the _Summons_ book. _Why don't they challenge us here? Why are they giving us such simple work?_

The girl seated near him took the opportunity to speak to him once more, being that their teacher was dismissed for lunch. The students themselves were not permitted food until class ended two hours later. The girl stood, walked over to his desk, and introduced herself. 

"I'm Erika." She smiled slightly. "What's your name?" 

"Sephiroth." 

Erika grinned. "Wow! You thought up a great one! I just took the name of one of those Shin-Ra employees. I could always hear someone calling for an Erika, so, I don't know, I just started liking that name." 

The girl seated to the right of him grinned. "I've heard of Erika, too! Hey, maybe we live near each other!" 

"I'm in room B37!" 

"Really? I'm in B42!! My name's Rose. I picked that name because I can see roses from my window." 

"Ooo. Those roses sure are pretty..." 

Sephiroth dazed off while staring at the chalkboard ahead of him. He thought, _So they didn't give any of us names? Why am I not surprised._

"Sephiroth," Erika said as she shook his shoulder with her right hand. "Where did you get your name from?" 

"Sensei." 

"Our Sensei? He doesn't really say anything.." 

"No. My old Sensei. He was a smart man, much unlike this bumbling oaf." 

"Ah, so what did this smart man tell you about your name?" Rose asked anxiously. "Such a strange name...tell us what it means!!" 

Sephiroth sighed and closed his eyes. "That's for me to keep to myself. Ask Sensei if you wanna know that badly." 

As if on cue, the teacher entered the room, clearing his throat and wiping crumbs from his collar as the two girls scrambled for their desks. "So, I trust you children were well-behaved while I was gone." 

Rose and Erika grinned and nodded while Sephiroth and the few other students remained motionless. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

_Bored!!!_

"Now, please study chapter three of your _Summons_ text. There will be a test on it later this week." 

Sephiroth burned inside. 

"Now, I know you all will do very well on this test, just like the last ones, right? You wanna make teacher happy, right?" 

_Wanna make students go homocidal, right? you annoying pudgy bastard..._

Erika chuckled barely below a whisper, avoiding the attention of their teacher. 

"...So study as much as you can so you can do well. That's all I ask. I'm going to go take my lunch now, so behave until I return." 

_...Bored!!_

"I'll be back in 35 minutes." 

The teacher promptly grabbed a satchel from behind his desk and shuffled out the door, locking it behind him. The students rose from their seats and began to socialize. Sephiroth bowed his head, dreading the next 35 minutes of absolute boredom and annoyance. 

"Well you wouldn't be so bored if you would talk to us instead of thinking to yourself!" Erika sounded in annoyance. 

"I would talk to everyone if they had something worthwhile to talk about," he replied with equal annoyance. 

"Well, then, what would YOU like to talk about?!" Rose chirped. "You seem to have all the bright ideas, so go ahead! What's the topic?!" 

Sephiroth shook his head. "Nevermind." 

Rose and Erika snorted in disapproval and disappointment. Akito, a boy who sat in the front of the room, called to Sephiroth, "You know, I think you made the right choice to stay out of it. Once they start going...well..you saw what happened the other day!" 

Rose cackled. "It wouldn't have been so bad if you had let me see what you were writing!! All that work just to find out you were scribbling some juvenille equation?" 

Sephiroth stood and walked toward the back of the room. 

Erika shrieked, "IT MOVES!!" then burst into laughter, soon joined by Rose. 

Sephiroth studied the small object hanging from the roof. It turned to face him and he tapped on the front of it. "Doctor, I know you're watching. I'm bored stiff!! Get me outta here and I'll do whatever you want. Just, PLEASE no more of this mindless--" 

The door to the room opened, and a man in a black suit marched in. He was followed by another dressed similarly, and another who stood at the door. The first picked up Sephiroth, threw him over his shoulder, and was followed out of the room by the second man. They left as suddenly as they had come, and left the other students speechless. 

  


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Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy Seven. If I did, I would be filthy rich and not have to worry about being sued. So don't sue me, okies? 


	4. Everything and More

  


**_Chapter Four: Everything and More_**

  


"I gave you everything you wanted," Hojo repeated as he made his rounds about the lab. Sephiroth followed him, keeping a good six foot distance between himself and the doctor. "What more could I have given you? All of you? Each of you wanted to socialize with others like you, so I gave that to you, and no-one appreciates it. I even gave you simple lessons so you could have a break to adjust to the change. Where did I fail? Tell me!" 

Sephiroth remained silent in the footspets of the Doctor. He allowed the man to vent. 

"Heavens above, I cannot understand it. They seemed to get along just fine, but you...no, you changed your mind about your desire. You did something the others were afraid to do." 

The doctor stopped, as did Sephiroth. He turned to face the boy. "Sephiroth. Is that what you would like to call yourself?" 

The boy nodded half-cautiously, not knowing if it was indeed a question directed at himself or the doctor talking aloud to himself again. 

'Sephiroth it is, then. So, Sephiroth, do you know what it is you did? how you surpassed the expectations of myself?" 

Sephiroth shook his head, his silvery hair swaying slightly as he moved. 

"You thought for yourself. The others were far too abiding. They couldn't even handle the fact that you had an exotic name you went by, could they? They're nothing more than puppets now. But where I have failed, I have also succeeded because of you. I had almost lost hope until you showed some form of will to change things." 

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes, uncertain about the doctor's words. It wasn't that he didn't understand, no, he comprehended well. He just didn't understand the topic of the conversation. Didn't everyone think for themselves? Didn't everyone make decisions on their own? 

"You're a wise boy," Hojo continued. "I see it in your eyes, I see that desire to learn. From now on you will report to me instead of attending your classes. I'll teach you things that you could only dream about in this lab. In all your years, you've studied but never really experienced anything. You know the chemical formula for Ammonium ions, but have you ever seen one bond together? Have you ever felt the weight of Mercury? Looked at the moon through a telescope? No, you haven't. You haven't even been outside of this facility. That will change as well. I only regret that we haven't much time before you assume your rank in SOLDIER, but perhaps what I start you with here can be expanded upon in the field, yes? You're very special...Sephiroth, you're more special than you have yet to comprehend, but perhaps I can help you understand your purpose better." 

Sephiroth's eyes sparkled. _Learn? In this lab?! And leave the facility as well??!!_ He felt as though he could leap into the arms of that somewhat creepy man, but held back because Hojo's dark demeanor always made him feel...strange. The man reeked of death, it seemed. 

"Before we begin, I'll need a few things," he searched around nearby for a brief list, and finding it, gave it to Sephiroth. "I would like for you to find them for me." 

"Me?" Sephiroth asked. "But..where...and..." he read the list, "...I don't even know what half of these things are!!" 

"That's why you'll have help." The two men who brought him into the lab returned. One was holding a small pile of clothing. "These are Turks. I'm certain you've heard of them before. They'll escort you to the market. If you have any questions, ask them, but do try to be self-efficient." He looked to both of the men. "I expect a report upon your return." 

The taller nodded. 

The shorter let out a confirming grunt. 

Hojo pointed to the clothes that the taller man was holding. "Change before you leave. You'll ...stand out less if you wear the same clothes as them." 

_A suit?_

"...And you'll be taking your weapon as well. The streets are quite dangerous compared to the safety of this building." 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

It was the first time that he ever rode the elevator used by common people in the Shin-Ra building. 

He always knew he was up high in the building, but he never imagined it to be _this_ high. The small window in his room didn't allow for the right angle for him to see the ground below, even when he was precariously perched on the edge of his bed to get the best view. 

When they reached the bottom and exited the building, he took a brief glimpse behind him to take in the height of the building. 

He stopped breathing momentarily at the sight. 

It was even higher than it seemed in that elevator. 60 floors, perhaps? Give or take a few, but it had to be many. He would have to ask Hojo about it later. Hojo seemed interested in him learning things, so this should pose no problem. 

Breathing normally once more, the trio set off on foot at a steady pace. 

  


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Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy Seven. If I did, I would be filthy rich and not have to worry about being sued. So don't sue me, okies? I plan on making next chapter fairly long, so this short chapter is better on its own (it reads better than sticking it with the next portion, that's for sure). I'm including an Aeris run-in by request in the next part, so watch for an update, yes? :D 


	5. Surreal

  


**_Chapter Five: Surreal_**

  


He pushed through the crowds that were loitering around the stores to see what they were selling inside. The men who accompanied Sephiroth, now each bearing two or so bags with various items inside, followed at a slight distance to allow the boy some space, but made sure he never left their sight. They knew just how important that boy was to the Doctor, and if something happened to him, they would certainly pay for it. No, not death, but something worse than death; something that would be almost as demoralizing as what he did to the mother of that silver-haired youth... 

Sephiroth happened upon the right store at last, his eyes reading the hand-painted window that read "Grocery and General Supply." All he needed now were the few produce items left on the list (carrots, lettuce, and tomato were among them). He shoved his way into the store (his entourage waited outside) and located the items, took them to the register, paid for them, and made his way out by pushing through people once more. 

The crowd had grown considerably, he had noticed, but paid little attention to it. He pushed his way further and began to look for the two who accompanied him, but there were too many people around for him to find them. He tried getting out of the crowd, but he found it was like a river current -- where they went, he went. Of course, he could have plowed through the lot of them, but he didn't want to injure anyone. Assuming that the two men knew where he was, he allowed the crowd to take him wherever they led to. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

Quite some time later, the crowd had finally thinned out enough to allow him free movement, but still he could not find the two men. He also began to realize that he had no clue where he was!! Back in the retail area, stores looked about the same shade of light tan. But this place...this place looked kind of run down. Everywhere was the brown of wood, the burgandy of rusted metal, the dim shine of corrugated tin... 

He turned around and started to go back the way he came from, but he slowly came to the conclusion that, well, he didn't know which direction he had come from. He was truely, truely lost. 

Sephiroth began to ask people which way would lead him back to town, but he never did catch the name of the town he had left. Every time he would mention the Shin-Ra building, people would either ignore him, assuming he was of upper class, or run away at the word. Appearantly people didn't look too highly upon the Shin-Ra company in this town, and Sephiroth wondered why. 

He soon found his way into yet another area of town, and was again quite lost. He gave up on finding his way back on his own, and instead continued asking people which way would lead him to the building. He kept receiving the same cold shoulder. 

Anxiety turned to dispair. He knew that the Doctor would wonder why he was missing, and probably assume the worst: desertion. He would think Sephiroth had ran away from Shin-Ra, from the experiments and suffering he endured. Then he thought, yes, maybe he _should_ run away. This was his chance at freedom! Although Hojo had promised freedom, he would make him work for it, and that meant the prospect of even more painful experiments. But like this, he was already safely away from Shin-Ra and no one could possibly know where he went. 

But then, what would happen if he were found again? That would be more painful than any "rewarded" experiment working towards promised freedom. 

He sat upon a large wooden crate and just stared into the distance. He was stuck. There was no way he could find his way back, and also nowhere to run to. They would find him eventually. They had to. He may as well sit and wait for them instead of running, then tell them all that happened. 

"Excuse me..." 

_hmm?_

"I was just wondering..." 

Sephiroth turned to his left and found a young girl, perhaps age twelve or thirteen, smiling at him. 

"...Well...you look so sad. I have something that may cheer you up!" She reached into her basket and pulled out a yellow flower. She handed it to him. "These are special flowers from a church nearby. Flowers will only grow in that church." 

He turned the flower around in his right hand. Sephiroth smiled slightly. "Thank..you." 

The girl smiled even more brightly than before. "You're welcome. Hey..you don't look like you're from around here. You wear a suit like Those Men. You're not one of Those Men, are you?" 

Sephiroth blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, Those Men?" He looked around expecting to see the two whom were supposed to be with him, but saw no one of the sort. 

"Those Men who keep trying to take me with them," she replied quietly. "They scare me." 

Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm not trying to take you away, if that's what you mean." Sephiroth thought, _Is that why people hate Shin-Ra? Are they kidnappers?_ "I'm actually kind of...lost." 

The girl sighed in relief. "Well, this is no place for someone to sleep! You can probably stay at my house until morning if you like. I was on my way home from work anyways." 

"Isn't it still early?" he asked the girl. 

"No. Don't let the light fool you. There's no sunlight in the slums; it's all artificial." She sighed. "I wonder what it's like to be in real sunlight all day." 

Sephiroth shrugged. "It's just like this, but warmer...Do you know how to get to the Shin-Ra building from here? There's sunlight--" 

"I have to work all day to sell these flowers in town, but today I hardly sold any at all," she changed the subject, and held up the basket with many flowers neatly stacked inside. "If you're lost, maybe you could find your way home tomorrow when I go back into town! I know the back way so it won't be as crowded...is that how you got lost, in that crowd?" 

He nodded. 

"Okay. So I'll lead you back there tomorrow. In the meantime, let's go to my house. My mom loves it when we have visitors! We hardly get anyone to stop by anymore, not since Those Men started dropping by. People think we'll bring bad luck to them because Those Men are always looking for me..." The girl stopped. "OH!! Goodness!! I forgot to tell you my name!!" She blushed in embarassment. "I'm Aeris." 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

Sephiroth savored the last few bites of his meal as much as he did the first. This was his first exposure to something other than the comissioned food at Shin-Ra, and these included the groceries purchased by him that day. He felt a slight bit bad about giving the groceries he bought in town to the girl and her mother, but he knew they would have been less fresh for Hojo if he hadn't, and would have gone to waste because they would have been "unsuitable." He would just buy more the following day on his way to the Shin-Ra building. 

"Thank you again for the vegetables," Aeris' mother said kindly. "It's not often that we get fresh foods in the Slums." 

Sephiroth frowned. "The Slums?" 

"Yes. That's what they call places like this, all because we don't have the money to live on top of the plate with the rest of 'em. I guess they had to find a way to give new meaning to the term 'high society'..." 

At this, Sephiroth smiled uncertainly, hoping she meant the remark as a joke. Aeris began to clear the dishes as her mother refilled his water glass. When she was done pouring the water, she gestured toward an area by the door. "I was wondering...what kind of sword is that? I've never seen one that size in all my years." 

"It's Masamune," Sephiroth replied. "That's the only one of its kind. It was custom-made for when I go to..." he trailed off, recalling the general opinion of Shin-Ra, and possibly they felt the same about Soldier, "...strange places. It's not too smart to walk around in foreign areas unarmed." He grew warm inside at his bold half-lie. _Nice cover._

"Or to get _lost_ in a 'foreign area', right?" the mother asked with a teasing smile on her face. A sharp chuckle was heard from the girl clearing dishes in the kitchen. 

"Um...sure..." he fidgeted a bit in his chair. 

"Now, I'm off to bed. Aeris leaves early in the morning to tend the flowers in the church, so when you wake up, you can meet her there. Aeris, does he know how to find the church?" 

"Yeah, mom!" she called from the kitchen. "I showed him on the way home!" 

She nodded satisfactorily, then went upstairs to prepare a bed for their guest. 

-|/\/\/\/\|-

Sephiroth sat quietly in the chair and thought a while. He was still quite nervous about what may happen to him when he went back to Hojo. Then, another thought entered his mind: did he endanger this Aeris girl by staying in her home? If Shin-Ra was already after her, would they find her when they found him? Rather, WHY was Shin-Ra AFTER this girl? It was hard to imagine such a gentle being causing harm to a powerful force such as the Shin-Ra, so why could they possibly... 

Aeris finished cleaning up in the kitchen and returned to the table, taking the seat to the left of Sephiroth. "Go ahead," she nodded slowly. "Ask whatever you like. It's not normal for someone to sit here this long without saying a single word, so you must have been really thinking hard. What would you like to know?" 

Sephiroth shook his head, his silver hair swaying a bit. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, okay?" 

"Tell you what?" 

"Why Shin-Ra is after you." 

Aeris nodded again, but with more sadness than before in her movements. "They've been after me ever since I was born. Even before that, they were after my mom. I was too young to really remember such a horrible thing, but I know my dad died protecting us while my mom and I ran away. They also killed my mom." 

Sephiroth thought out loud while pointing toward the roof of the house, "But, isn't _she_ your..." 

"No, she took me in after she found my mom and I at the Station. She's taken care of me since then, treating me like her own daughter. She is my mom, even if she didn't give birth to me." 

Sephiroth nodded in understanding. "But...why were they after her?" 

"Well..." Aeris closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them, staring deep into Sephiroth's eyes. She tilted her head to the right slightly, "My mother was what they called an Ancient. They wanted her because there were very few of them left in this world. Ancients are supposed to take people to the 'Promised Land'." 

Sephiroth thought to himself, _Promised Land...Hojo says that I'm special...that I'M the one who's supposed to lead..._

"Those Men say I'm also an Ancient, but I don't know why. They say those voices I hear are what make me an Ancient." Aeris paused briefly, then burst into a brief fit of laughter. "Ha...you must think I'm crazy, right? Heh heh...For saying I hear voices, right?" 

"No," Sephiroth replied. _She's like me...but why did I go through all that pain, all those treatments? She's the same as me, she's never felt that needle, that liquid fire, and SHE'S supposed to lead everyone to the Promised Land..?!_ He shook the thoughts out of his head. "I..I know people who hear voices, too. They thought _I_ was the weird one because I couldn't hear the voices." 

Aeris' face brightened. "So..so there's more people out there like me?" She stood up and turned around once full-circle, then bent forward a bit to look him in the eyes again. "Where are they?! Can I meet them???!!!" She grinned as wide as her face would allow. 

Sephiroth shook his head, "Sorry, I don't think you could...but...can I tell you something?" 

Aeris' smile faded almost to a frown, but she replied, "Sure." 

"They...I was also told I have to find the 'Promised Land'. Do you know where it is?" 

Aeris shook her head and stepped away from him. "You...you're a liar!! They're saying that you lie, that you're not like me! You're NOTHING like me!!" 

"But, they said--!!" 

"I don't care what they SAID, they're SAYING you're not like me!!" Aeris insisted, barely below a yell. 

Sephiroth went cold. _Those voices...those are the voices the others could hear. They're the ones telling her that._

Aeris straightened up, standing quite stiffly. "If you lied about yourself, you must have lied about the others. So that's why Those Men are still after me...I must be the last Ancient." She placed her arms around her torso and walked upstairs. She paused halfway up and looked at Sephiroth once more. "I'm telling mom that we're leaving now, and to wait up until I come back home. If you lied about being an Ancient, you could have lied about not being one of Them. If you stay here...I won't get any sleep. Pack up your things, and I'll be down in a minute." 

Sephiroth retreived his Masamune as directed, and placed the flower she had given him inside his jacket, tucked into his belt. He reached for the remainder of his money in his coat pocket, still considerably large, looked it over, and removed a few bills from the bunch. He placed the bills inside the girl's empty basket (its earlier contents now residing inside a blue vase upon the dining table), and returned the rest to his jacket pocket. Sword in hand, he listened as Aeris scurried back downstairs. She bore a simple wooden staff in one hand and a round, greenish sphere in the other. 

"Let's be on our way," she said as she walked towards the door, then opened it for them both. 

Sephiroth stepped outside, and looked around before clearing the doorway for the girl. He saw nothing. It was what he could _hear_ that awakened his senses. 

"I think I can find my way," he told the girl. 

She started to protest, but he placed a hand on her mouth to silence her. "Go back upstairs, Aeris, and stay there. It looks like I wasn't the only one whom you led home today." 

  


* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Final Fantasy Seven (although this game ownz me! C.C meep!). If I did, I would be filthy rich and not have to worry about being sued by god-like companies such as Squaresoft. 


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